More than 2,000 triathletes swam, biked and ran through Centre County on a humid Sunday for the first Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley.
Competitors from 43 states and 15 countries kicked off the 70.3 mile triathlon (half the distance of a full Ironman) with a 1.2-mile, single-loop swim in Sayers Lake at Bald Eagle State Park beginning at 7 a.m. From there it was onto the 56-mile bike route that traveled into Clinton County before coming back through the Nittany Valley and over Centre Hall Mountain. After descending into Centre Hall, participants made their way toward State College and the Penn State campus, where a 13.1-mile run concluded the race with the finish line at the 50-yard line of Beaver Stadium.
Fittingly, it was a Penn Stater who crossed the finish line first. Matthew Guenter, a 2019 graduate who now resides in Boulder, Colorado, was the top finisher with a time of 4:19:30. Guenter is the reigning USA Triathlon national champion in both the super sprint and distance.
Caroline Moyer, of Malvern, had the top women’s time at 5:00:55.
Vincent Fadale, one of approximately 200 local residents to take part in the Ironman 70.3, was the first State College area resident to cross the finish line. He clocked a time of 4:48:03, good for 28th overall and 11th in the 30-34 age group.
A year after it was formally announced following years of effort to bring an Ironman event to central Pennsylvania, the triathlon was made possible by the support of 1,000 volunteers. They were joined along the route by community members who came out to watch and cheer on the competitors.
A little over five hours after the race began, Fritz Smith, president and CEO of the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, was pleased with how the day was going. The HVAB led the effort to bring the Ironman to Happy Valley and has been instrumental in the planning.
“I think it’s been a terrific day so far for Happy Valley,” Smith said. “The athletes seem happy; the Ironman group seems happy. The participants seem ecstatic. They like the hospitality here and they think it’s a great course. From our perspective, so far, it’s a success.”
While there were a few complaints on social media about traffic and road closures that had been announced and posted in advance, as well as a backup for spectators and organizers leaving Bald Eagle State Park, the event saw few if any other problems.
Within the next month, Ironman and the dozens of agencies involved will hold an after-action debriefing, Smith said.
“We’ll go through the good, the bad and the ugly,” Smith said. “We’ll learn some lessons and be ready to do it bigger and better next year.”
Concerns arose earlier in the week as smoke from Canadian wildfires caused unhealthy air quality in Centre County and throughout Pennsylvania. By the weekend, though, the air had cleared and the only remaining concern was the possibility of thunderstorms.
“We did have concern about rain — if there’s any lightning then they’ll call it,” Smith said. “But we didn’t have any and the weather really worked out well. It’s a little humid but I think this is good running weather. It’s a little cooler than it usually is in June or July here. I think it’s actually good competition weather.”
A major draw of hosting an Ironman event is the economic benefit of welcoming thousands of visitors. On that front, the effort appears to have been a success as competitors arrived throughout the week.
“Usually in the week leading up to July 4 it’s generally about the slowest week for the hotels, so this has been a big boost for them,” Smith said. “We’ll know on Wednesday what the overall occupancy was but we’re hearing just from the rates we saw that the hotels seemed to be in many cases full or just about full.
“A lot of Airbnbs and VRBOs did well. The inventory we were checking every day was way down from it’s normal level, so that’s a good indication that many were booked. Bed and breakfasts for the most part sold out. It was a really good event for the lodging community.”
The Happy Valley triathlon is the only Ironman event in Pennsylvania, and the organization has a three-year contract to host the 70.3 in Centre County.
But Smith and other community and business leaders are optimistic it will continue well beyond 2025.
“As we get done with the third year, both parties, the locals as well as Ironman, will look at things and see, did this work for both of us, and either party could back out if we don’t think it’s working,” Smith said. “The goal is that this is here for many decades to come. Once we get to the conclusion of that third year we’ll reassess and most likely sign back up for another three.”
Volunteers took on a wide variety of jobs before, during and after the Ironman 70.3, including handing out water and ice to runners, and offering ice cream to competitors on their way out after they had crossed the finish line at Beaver Stadium. Photos by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com
